(A)(1) It is unlawful for a person to cultivate, handle, or process hemp in this State without a hemp license issued by the department pursuant to the state plan.

(2) The department may charge application, license, and renewal of license fees reasonably calculated by the department to pay the cost of administering this chapter. Licensing fees for cultivators and handlers shall not exceed one thousand dollars annually per registrant, and licensing fees for processors shall not exceed the cost calculated by the department of the processor licensing program. Fees collected by the department pursuant to this item shall continuously be appropriated to the department for the purposes of carrying out the duties of the South Carolina industrial hemp program under this chapter.

(3) Any person seeking to cultivate, handle, or process hemp shall undergo a state criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the State Law Enforcement Division and a national criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The results of these criminal records checks must be reported to the department. The State Law Enforcement Division is authorized to retain fingerprints for certification purposes and for notification of the department regarding criminal charges. No person who has been convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance under state or federal law during a ten-year period from the date of his conviction shall be eligible to obtain a license to cultivate, handle, or process hemp.

(4) Any person who materially falsifies any information contained in an application to participate in the program established herein shall be ineligible to participate.

(5) The commissioner shall make information regarding a licensee and that information described in subsection (B)(1) accessible in real time to federal, state, and local law enforcement.

(B)(1) A person applying for a license to cultivate hemp shall provide to the department a legal description and global positioning coordinates sufficient to locate the fields or greenhouses used to cultivate hemp.

(2) A person applying for a license to cultivate, handle, or process hemp shall provide the department with prior written consent:

(a) allowing representatives of the department, the State Law Enforcement Division, and local law enforcement agencies to enter onto all premises where hemp is cultivated, handled, processed, or stored for the purpose of conducting physical inspections, obtaining samples of hemp or hemp products, or otherwise ensuring compliance with the requirements of state law and any administrative regulations promulgated by the department; and

(b) to the testing procedure set forth in the state plan, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 THC concentration levels of hemp produced in the State.

HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 216 (S.839), Section 2, eff June 2, 2014; 2017 Act No. 37 (H.3559), Section 1, eff May 10, 2017; 2019 Act No. 14 (H.3449), Section 1, eff March 28, 2019.

Editor's Note

2019 Act No. 14, Section 3, provides as follows:

"SECTION 3. (A) The forty 2019 licenses issued pursuant to Chapter 55, Title 46 prior to the effective date of this act shall be valid for the term of the licenses, under the terms and conditions under which the licenses were issued, except that, upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, each licensee may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes.

"(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46-55-20(B)(3), as amended by this act, as of the date licenses were issued for 2019, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture may issue additional licenses for 2019 to any applicant that met the licensing criteria but was denied solely because the department had already issued the legally permitted number of licenses for the year. Licenses issued pursuant to this subsection shall be for the same term, and under the same terms and conditions, under which the forty licenses identified in subsection (A) were issued. Licensees pursuant to this subsection also may expand operations beyond the forty-acre limit and may cultivate hemp for commercial purposes upon the approval of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

"(C) The law under which licenses are issued shall be in full force and effect for those licenses during the term of the licenses."

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 37, Section 1, rewrote the section, creating the South Carolina Industrial Hemp Program.

2019 Act No. 14, Section 1, rewrote the section, which had related to the South Carolina Industrial Hemp Program, research, permits, and regulations.